What CEO Presentations All Have in Common

I’ve designed a lot of presentations for CEOs & entrepreneurs over the years. Art Peck (former CEO of Gap), Allen Adamson (former CEO of Landor) and Harvey Spevak (Chairman of Equinox Sports Clubs), all of their decks had one thing in common - they were short.

Now, one could argue that these guys are big picture thinkers, so of course their decks were on the shorter side. They aren’t getting into the weeds of financial earnings, heavy details, and such. Yes and no. I think at a deeper level, what they all really have in common is…confidence. They are able to rise above their company, look down, and share exactly what their audience needs to hear in the way they need to hear it.

One of the hardest things to do with presentations is cut down our own content. We have so many fabulous ideas and things to share, it’s hard to part with any of it. Because it’s personal. Or on the other side, we feel fear that if we don’t include it, we’ll get fired or lose a client.

What I see with most CEOs is that they are fearless. That doesn’t mean they don’t have fear - everyone has fear - but they don’t let it control what is or isn’t on their slides. Because they know what’s most important - the vision & mission of their company. And they let that lead the conversation, rather than filling every slide up with bullet points.

We are at a time in history where every company is under a microscope. (And that’s a good thing.) Customers want to know - do your values line up with my values? Do you care about the things I care about? Simon Sinek, author & speaker, says, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” That is why it’s absolutely crucial that we not only prioritize our why - but how that why is being presented in our meetings and our presentations. Or it will get lost in the weeds of a 60-page PowerPoint.

So don’t be afraid to cut down your content. Focus on your why instead. Do that and it will produce what we all need more of - confidence.

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